ITV has signed a new deal with Racecourse Media Group (RMG), the Jockey Club and British Horseracing Authority (BHA) for rights until 2026
The British TV network company ITV has successfully retained its exclusive rights for broadcasting UK horse races for three more years until 2026. The British TV network company will remain the exclusive broadcaster of mega events like The Grand National, Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot, and The Derby.
ITV has been the home of the Open Horse racing event since 2017, and over the past few years, they have seen a big increase in the audience with a reported 60 per cent increase.
ITV director of Sport, Niall Sloane expressed his delight and said, "This deal will take us into a decade of racing on ITV and we are delighted to be able to continue to bring viewers over 100 days of live coverage of this wonderful sport, including some of the most enjoyable, historic and exciting events each year.”
“We look forward to continuing to work with Racecourse Media Group and our other partners within racing to bring audiences the very best that racing has to offer for years to come,” added Sloane.
In the same press conference, the Racecourse Media Group Chief Executive Martin Stevenson also said, "On behalf of our racecourses, we are delighted to have cemented our relationship with ITV for a further three years.”
“ITV has been an outstanding partner for the sport, providing more terrestrial coverage here in the UK than any other racing jurisdiction in the world, illustrating both the broadcaster’s commitment and the enduring popularity of the sport,” concluded Stevenson.
ITV will continue to broadcast on free-to-air channels
Despite the rumours that the new deal will involve a change in the plans of the company in the future, ITV will continue to provide free-to-air coverage of open horse racing on their linear channels and streaming services.
The British channel has been providing 100 days of live horse racing coverage on FTA channels ITV1 and ITV4 since they signed their first deal with the sport in 2017.
With events such as the English FA Cup, Six Nations rugby, the Rugby World Cup, cycling's Tour de France, the British Touring Car Championships and the MotoGP motorcycling series all in their portfolio, their FTA portfolio is stronger than ever.
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